Siegfried Lenz

Siegfried Lenz (1926–2014) was a German writer and one of the major authors of postwar German literature. He studied philosophy, English studies, and German literary history, then worked as a feuilleton editor for the newspaper Die Welt before becoming a freelance writer. His best-known works include So zärtlich war Suleyken (1955), Deutschstunde (1968), Heimatmuseum (1978), and Schweigeminute (2008). His novels and stories often address social issues and Germany’s confrontation with its National Socialist past. Deutschstunde, about a police officer who enforces a friend’s ban on painting during the Nazi era, became an international success and was adapted for film several times. Lenz received numerous honors, including the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, the Goethe Prize of the City of Frankfurt, the Gerhart Hauptmann Prize, and the Thomas Mann Prize.